Sistine Madonna Socks

Originally intended location of the painting. It was meant to be placed behind a choir screen, facing a crucifix attached to the screen.
The Virgin and infant Jesus would gaze out onto the crucifixion, with the Virgin witnessing the torture and eventual death that would befall her Child, and with infant Jesus looking into his own future at the hands of Roman soldiers.
It is to this scene of the crucifixion that St. Sixtus also points to and not to us, the viewer. With all of this taken into consideration, the frightened and saddened expressions are now understood. Almost like a lesson in the perilous nature of gazing into one’s future.

The two picturesque winged angels, known as putti or cherubim, resting on their elbows and admiring the three individuals above them are another noteworthy aspect of this painting. 
These two cherubs have achieved their own kind of fame, frequently appearing on everything from stamps, clothing, and magazines to—if we do say so ourselves—quite attractive socks.

Their origin has also become somewhat of a legend with some people saying that when Raphael was painting the Madonna, the children of his model would come in to watch and struck by their posture, he would add them to his work. 
Others say that Raphael was inspired by two children he encountered on the street when he saw them "looking wistfully into the window of a baker's shop".
Whichever tale may be true, it seems that art does indeed imitate life.